12 hours ’till Glastonbury…

I am writing this on the tube, which is a first for a Lightyears blog. It’s like being a proper Londoner. Except, if I was a proper Londoner, I guess I’d be wearing a pearly suit and carrying a banana. But in lieu of those things, a MacBook and a hoodie will have to do.

Just been listening to the recordings from a rehearsal we had yesterday at Lightyears HQ in Clapham. Tony came up for the afternoon and we blitzed some new material – 11 songs between us. I had the most. The lion’s share, in fact. I’d written five, the other two had both written three. I’m not making a point. Just saying. I’d written more. Doesn’t make me a more important band member or anything.

Anyway, we bashed through all of the songs individually then picked a couple to stick in the set at the Earl’s Court gig today and ultimately at our Glastonbury shows tomorrow and Friday (incidentally, we’re leaving for Glasto in less than 12 hours. Getting pretty excited. Weather’s looking reasonable too). 

Here’s a quick rundown of the new stuff:

George’s songs:
– Attack: Foo Fighters meets the Go! Team
– Boy (working title only): Beatles-esque mid-pace number with a cracking refrain
– Unnamed: another of George’s epic ballads… this is something pretty special, heart-wrending vocal melodies, spacious arrangement

(nb. the conclusion I draw from this is that George needs to start naming his songs more efficiently.) 

Tony’s songs:
– Put The Gun Down: mid-pace, bluesy number with a sort of Wild West swagger
– Blue: another song with a swaggering guitar riff but pretty weighty subject matter
– Birthday: a song about turning eight and realising your world has changed forever

My songs:
– Good Time Back: straight up-and-down blues song about having better parties
– Bohemian Dream: stomper about life in a band
– Brightest Star: George and Tony described this as “the single”
– A Million Voices: still needs some work, I think… a song about realising your potential
– If You’ll Have Me: possibly the only song I’ve written that could be song by Ella Fitzgerald

We rehearsed two of the tracks to performance standard – Good Time Back and Put The Gun Down – and, if you come see us at the festival, you’ll hear them in the set. Hopefully by that point we’ll have had a chance to sit down in a field and rehearse up a couple more new ones – provided, that is, that we don’t get distracted by hot pear cider and stilt-walking fire-eating uni-cycling clowns. Which is always a danger at Glastonbury.

Gotta go. This is my stop. 

See you in the Stone Circle for Glastonbury sunrise…

Chris Lightyear